Google, getting a headstart on the annual tradition of April Fools' pranks, released a YouTube clip on Sunday declaring that the world's most popular video website will shut down at the stroke of midnight.
The three-minute video intended as a gag - a montage of clips and cameos from viral video stars like David Devore from "David after the dentist" - describes how the website will wind down as some 30,000 technicians begin to trawl through 150,000 clips, to select the world's best video.
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The winner gets a $500 stipend, a clip-on MP3 player - and becomes the sole video to be featured on YouTube when the website relaunches in 2023.
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"Gangnam Style has the same chance of winning as a video with 40 views of a man feeding bread to a duck," YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar pronounced, referring to the viral sensation from Korean pop artist PSY that's now the most-viewed video on the site.
Google's video also features intense discussions between judges, who hotly debate the merits of everything from Citizen Kane to "epic skateboard fail".
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While clearly tongue-in-cheek, several YouTube viewers appeared stricken or dumbfounded, while others expressed sadness and regret in attached comments.